Chapter 1
Chapter One or Issue One is the 1st chapter of the Strong Female Protagonist webcomic and the 1st chapter of book one. It starts here on the site. Recap The chapter opens on Alison Green's 20th birthday party at the Greens' house. Her mother, father, younger sister and dog, are waiting for her to blow out the candle on her birthday cake. After Alison makes a wish, her parents cheer but her sister, Jennifer, rolls her eyes. Jen asks her if she wished for "anything good" and Alison replies that she "always does". Later, at the Bronxville Train Station, Alison is waiting to board a train to New York City. Her father, Geoff, is there to see her off, despite her assertions that she'll be alright, he tells he that he'd feel better seeing her off since it's the end of christmas break. On the train, Alison receives a text from Hector Jimenez. He's flying back from Switzerland and wants to know if she wants to catch up. Alison declines, she has plans to go to a protest the next day and work at the firehouse. In Alison's dorm, at The New School, Alison prepares to leave for the day. Protest signs litter the wall of Alison's roommate's bed. As Alison walks down the streets of New York, she is hit by a bus and flung into a street sign. The bus driver is initially shocked, but once he recognizes Alison, he chastises her for getting in the way. As Alison gets up-- seemingly unharmed -- and adjusts the bent street sign, she is revealed to be more durable than the average human. As she walks away, the bus driver yells after her, asking her who's going to for the damages. At the protest, Alison expresses annoyance when she sees a stocky masked man standing in the crowd. Her roommate, Violet, greets her before flinging her arm over her shoulder and yelling at the police standing by the crowd. She flings a coffee cup at a police officer in a mech suit, confident that he won't do anything with Alison by her side. The masked man summons flames in his hands, ready to fight, but he is held back by the police officer in the mech. The masked man, revealed to be a superhero called Furnace, accuses Alison of throwing the cup. Violet interrupts, accusing Furnace of murdering Jose Garcia and Raul Martinez, two immigrants. Alison breaks up the fight and dares Furnace to start something in front of the cameras. The two glare at each other before furnace flies off in a rage. Alison angrily grabs Violet, telling her that their friendship will be over if she ever takes advantage of her powers like that again. Alison storms off, annoyed. She walks past graffiti of a shadowy man in a helmet, the words "Thinking Of You" are inscribed in white within the shadow. She glances at two magazines on a rack: a People Magazine with a helmet on the cover, the words "Public Enemy No.1" inscribed underneath; and an OK! magazine with a masked man on the cover, "The Man Behind The Masked Menace" as the headlines. Alison declines a call from Hector and sighs. She glances forlornly into a store window, sighing at action figures of a masked young superheroine with long blonde hair. In the past, the young woman is revealed to be a superheroine called Mega-Girl. She single-handedly takes down several giant robots, she is accompanied by two others, a bat-man and a superhero with shrinking powers. After the robots are revealed to be a distraction, Mega-Girl goes to confront Menace on her own. In the present day, Alison and Violet reconcile in their dorm. Later, Alison meets with Doctor Maria Rosenblum at the Department for Biodynamic Research and Defense. Violet is revealed to be the first "chromosomally stable" friend she's made since middle school. Alison reveals that she's reluctant to date because of status as a celebrity and her fear of hurting any man she becomes intimate with. The Doctor assures her that she can control it if she wants to and tells her she has "More to fear from her fear of her power than the fear itself". Later, back at the dorm, Violet invites Alison to attend a concert, but Alison declines as she is getting coffee with a guy friend. Violet assumes that Alison is dating the boy, but Alison insists that he's just a friend. From the back seat of a car, Hector calls, revealing that supervillains called Graveyard and Cleaver have escaped from prison. Alison is reluctant to act, as she is a retired superhero, and tries to insist that the military should act, to Hector's dismay. Alison angrily accuses him of only wanting to go on a mission again with the team to relive his glory days. Outside of his car window, Hector glances at a movie poster about the Guardians superhero team. Irate, Hector asks her if she's reluctant to go because the two criminals once worked for Menace - the only supervillan able to defeat her. Alison calmly tells Hector that she's not afraid of Menace, and she hangs up despite his protests. She glances outside her window at a silhouetted graffiti drawing of Menace on a building on the other side of the street, the words "Thinking Of You" is inscribed within. In the past, Alison, as Mega-Girl, crashes through a brick wall to confront Menace, a telepathic supervillan. Alison tackles him, and to her surprise, Menace surrenders. He removes his helmet and reveals that his real name is Patrick. He hands a skeptical Mega-Girl a folder containing files with several dead superheros. They're all children, among them is a girl with the ability to communicate with diseases from the Philippines, and a boy with the power to generate limitless energy. When Mega-Girl asks if he killed them, he tells her that he didn't but they were all killed by bionormative organizations. His investigations had led to private companies, arcane organizations making use of warlords, religious zealots and mercenaries, but he isn't sure if they're working together. The superheroes were all killed seemingly several decades before superheros were known to the world at large. When Mega-Girl brings this up, Patrick speculates it was the machinations of powerful people who either created biodynamics or knew enough about them to weed them out before their powers manifested. Mega-Girl, frustrated and confused, tells Patrick he is still going to jail. Patrick laughs at her, he telling she doesn't understand. Those dead children were the only ones who could've saved the world. No one thinks they're worth killing because he isn't powerful enough and she isn't smart enough. He sarcastically asks her if she's going to try to fling poverty into the sea. He declares that he's done being a supervillan because it's nothing but a childish game and could never actually change the world. In the present, Alison arrives at her job at the Engine 405, Hook & Ladder 105 Firehouse. She mocks Furnace with her coworkers and it is revealed that she is still a freshman in college because she took a year off to fight crime. She receives a text from a friend and leaves, outside the firehouse someone calls out to her -- it's Patrick. After wishing her a happy belated birthday, his gift is revealed to be a book titled Women Who Changed the World. They smile at each other as Alison asks, "How did you know?" Notes Revelations *“Autonomic Somadynamism” is the scientific term for Alison’s Power. *The government is trying to keep tabs on the reproductive habits of the younger superheros. *Someone orchestrated the murders of biodynamics before anyone knew they existed. Patrick (Menace) tried to investigate those murders, but his efforts didn't lead to a conclusive end. *Alison is friends with her old arch-enemy Menace, a retired infamous supervillan. She has not told anyone about Menace's real identity, seeing as her old teammates and most of the world seem to think he had just disappeared. Features Characters First Appearance *Alison Green *Susan Green *Geoff Green *Jennifer Green *Hector Jimenez *Violet Roth *Chris Mackey (Furnace) *Maria Rosenblum *Patrick Andrews Locations *The New School *Department for Biodynamic Research and Defense *Engine 405, Hook & Ladder 105 Firehouse Navigation Category:A to Z